Tips on entering awards

They are also the perfect opportunity to give your company and employees’ industry recognition, great press and personal validation — whilst also benefitting your brand’s reputation. Plus, the ceremonies themselves can even introduce you to contacts and networks, which could potentially help your organisation later down the line.

Whether showcasing Scriba as a business or celebrating our founder, Katie Mallinson, we’ve been front-runners in a multitude of awards showing our collective, industry-leading credentials. And, whether it’s a nomination for the company, a personal recognition for yourself, or for another team member — you can’t help but feel proud of the business you are a part of.

But long before your name is pulled from that golden envelope during the awards night, you must first impress the judging panel in order to be shortlisted. So, here are some tips to help you utilise every word in your entry to make you a stand-out candidate…

Keep it simple

Be clear and precise throughout your entry, bringing in key information which outlines the specifics of the business such as turnover, sales growth, number of employees and objectives. Judges will have a lot of entries to read through, so make sure they can see this quickly. Remember – focus on facts not ‘fluff’, and avoid jargon!

Tell them your story

Now that you have the judges hooked, it’s important to keep them interested. Explain your journey and how exactly you’ve managed to reach this award-winning outcome. Ask yourself questions such as, ‘what was life like before?’ ‘What obstacles have you overcome?’ ‘What have you learnt along the way?’ Make it as engaging as possible to ensure your reader doesn’t get bored.

Give evidence

Not only do you have to believe that your work is amazing, but you also have to prove it to the judges. A way to do just this is to provide solid examples against the criteria given to you – spell out your success and avoid vague generalisations.

Be yourself

In your entry it’s important to come across as professional, but you also want to inject some personality into it wherever you can. You want to be different and stand out, so avoid falling into the business-speak category in which you use words and phrases that you would never use in everyday speech. This will help you to build a personal connection with the judges and prevent them from zoning out.

Start early

Give yourself enough time to produce a concrete entry — don’t wait until the last minute, meaning that you are forced to rush it. A lot of awards do tend to extend their deadline, but don’t always assume that this will be the case – start now!

Proofread

It is so important that you proof, proof and proof again before sending your entry! You don’t want to waste time on creating the perfect submission for it to be dismissed because you have a typo within the first sentence, so make sure that it is read by at least one other person who hasn’t been involved in compiling it. Spelling mistakes and typos can easily undermine your whole success story.

These are just some of the things to consider when writing an award-winning entry. Keep a close eye on up-and-coming awards in your industry that could be perfect for you to enter – you never know, you may be just the kind of company they are looking for!

Remember to take your time, stick to the wordcount, and answer all the questions – we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you!